Mesa Police Arrest 5 in Undercover Sex Sting

Fox 10
December 11, 2014

http://www.fox10phoenix.com/story/27617308/2014/12/12/mesa-police-arrest-5-in-undercover-sex-sting

[with video]

Mesa Police detectives arrested 5 suspects in an undercover child prostitution sting.

One of the suspects is a priest and police say they had to use a Taser to arrest him.

According to court documents detectives posed as a 16-year-old girl who the suspects solicited to have sex with.

Police say the suspects were between 26 to 49 years-old. All the suspects admitted to police that they knew they were coming to have sex with a 16-year-old female.

One of the men, 49-year-old Solomon Bandiho was a Catholic Priest at a Holy Cross Catholic Church in Mesa.

"We get people from all walks of life, almost anything you can think of from a stay at home mom or dad to executives of businesses, we certainly see all types in these operations," said Detective Steve Berry.

According to police Bandiho asked the undercover detective for sex offering $60, he said he wanted extras and a long-term relationship.

When police tried to arrest him he resisted and they had to deploy a Taser to subdue him.

Mesa Police called the operation buyer beware. "They all showed up at the location, all had the financial means to pay for the services they requested, and after arrest all admitted that they thought they were responding to sex with a 16-year-old," he said.

Police say Bandiho told them he used an app to make a fake phone number to contact the undercover detective.

"The goal of these operations is to keep these individuals off the streets and out of our communities," said Berry.

Mesa Police records show the following men were arrested and charged with one count of child prostitution:

Eric Mohren 12/7/1980

Christopher Sherman 5/6/1966

Solomon Bandiho 2/5/1965

Jose Flores-Nunez 3/19/1983

Santiago Robles 10/26/1988